Who Should I Start? Cade Stover or AJ Barner

Wednesday, January 21, 8:44 PM

Houston Texans tight end Cade Stover's (knee) MRI exam showed no damage to his ACL, a league source told Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 Sports. Stover was unable to make much happen after fellow tight end Dalton Schultz (calf) left the Divisional Round loss to the New England Patriots before getting hurt himself in the fourth quarter. The 25-year-old caught one of his three targets for only two yards. The good news is that Stover should be a full-go for training camp in the summer and for Week 1 of the regular season in the fall. In his second year in the league, the former fourth-rounder caught just 12 passes for 76 yards and no touchdowns on 16 targets in nine regular-season games. As long as Schultz is healthy going into the start of the season, Stover won't be fantasy relevant. He had a 15-133-1 line in 15 games in 2024 in his rookie campaign.

Wednesday, February 18, 11:01 AM

Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner broke out as the overall TE14 in PPR leagues during his second pro season in 2025. Fully healthy for all 17 games, he racked up 52 catches, 519 yards, and six touchdowns in a Seahawks offense that ultimately won Super Bowl LX. Most importantly, he fended off rookie Elijah Arroyo. Before the year, it seemed like Arroyo might push to be the No. 1 tight end, but that never happened because Barner contributed at such a high level. Arroyo will get a little more involved in 2026, but we expect that Barner will remain the top tight end target for Sam Darnold, especially around the goal line. Not only is he trending up in dynasty leagues, but he's also an intriguing option in redraft leagues, especially for managers waiting to take their primary tight end until the later round of fantasy drafts. He'll likely open 2026 draft rankings just outside the top 12 tight ends, but he has top-10 upside.